Life in the Scriptures has a new format that will spend a Year in the New Testament, in a book-by-book journey reading one chapter per day. This approach enables busy people to have daily Bible readings, and to increase their familiarity with the people, places, and teachings of the New Testament. It is a profitable and helpful Bible study method. May God bless it to you.

November 14, 2013

It is Sunday
morning, the Jewish Sabbath is over. It
is probably still dark when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary leave for the
cemetery to clean and prepare the body of Jesus for the customary burial. They are concerned about the stone that seals
the tomb, yet they press on, arriving at the tomb a little before sunrise. They think Jesus is dead, but this Man of
Miracles has more miracles to work. As
they approach the tomb, the angel of the Lord descends from Heaven. His appearance has a three-fold effect. First he causes and earthquake which rolls
the stone away from the sepulcher.
Second, the battle-hardened soldiers are frightened to the point of
fainting. They will not stop the women
from entering the tomb now. Third, the
women are frightened. But not as weak as the soldiers, they neither faint nor
flee. Now the angel addresses the
women. His words make it clear that the
women do not believe Jesus has risen from the dead. “I know ye seek Jesus, which was
crucified. He is not here: for He is
risen, as He said.” He now invites the women to see the tomb, where a second
angel appears and both repeat this most singular and important announcement,
“He is not here, but is risen” (see Luke 24:6).

These women are
shocked and amazed. Three days ago they
saw their loved one tortured to death.
They had believed in Him as the Messiah.
They didn’t understand very much of what He said, but they saw His works
and they believed in Him. When He died,
their faith died with Him, but not their love.
They still grieve over their loss, and they still perform their
customary duties for Him. It is love
that leads them to do this. Now an angel
appears to them. He must have been an
apparition of great power, for the soldiers, who could fight and kill and
conquer in hand to hand combat, faint dead away. This is yet another shock to these grieving
women. No wonder his first words to them
are, “Fear not” (Mt. 28:5).

Note what the
women see. They see the soldiers
standing guard, and they see them fall to the ground in fear. They see the earth quake. They see the stone roll away from the
tomb. They see the angel descend. They see another angel in the tomb. They see that the body of Christ is gone.

Note what they
do not see. They do not see Jesus. They do not see Him in the tomb, nor do they
see Him leave the tomb after the stone is rolled away. Why?
Because Jesus is already risen when they arrive. He rose from the dead and left the tomb alive
before
the stone was rolled away. He
did not need to stone moved to get out of the tomb. He passed through the stone walls as easily
as He stilled the storm and walked on water before His crucifixion. He did not need man or angel to get Him out
of the tomb. He spoke truly when He said
to His disciples, “I lay down my life, that I may take it up again. No man
taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John
10:17 and 18). Why, then, is the stone
rolled away while they look on in fear?
To let the women, and later, the disciples, see into the tomb. To let them see that Christ is not there, not
dead, not finished. He is alive.

A Prayer for Biblical Understanding

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given to us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

About Me

The Rt. Rev. R. Dennis Campbell is Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia, and Rector of Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church in Powhatan, Virginia. He is the author of two books, He Shall Reign, and Gotta Run, and holds degrees from Southwest Baptist University, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.